guzma393
Active Member
Black powder neophyte here, I been messing around with Lee REALs as of late, and even got them to shoot fairly well out of my traditions hawkins woodsman. I didn't know what to make of the lubrication process, so I just brought a can of crisco with me and lubed them on site. It worked well, I wasn't sure if I was getting enough lube on the lee REALs.
I also had some homemade patch lube made from 1:1 mix of olive oil and beeswax. I preferred the patch lube more, as it was a more thicker consistency, and seemed like it wanted to fill in the grooves when packed on. After I came home, i figured i try pre lubing the bullets so i dont have to lube them on the field. I whipped up a fresh batch of homemade patch lube, and attempted to lube the lee reals using the dip method. Since it was my first time, I dipped the bullets when they were cold just to see what would it do, and it glazed the bullet with a nice thick layer. I tried pre heating the bullets, before dipping them, but I did not like how inconsistent the grooves were filling. Further, I noticed that the dip method probably is not the best method to lube the lee REALs, since they do not really have a nose to grasp on with pliers.
I resorted to simply dipping a cold bullet in the melted lube as that atleast got the best coverage. The excess lube along the base and the nose can then be wiped off, resulting in thick bands of lube packed along the grooves of the lee REAL bullet. I'm not exactly sure if the pan lube method would work for the lee REAL either, since the driving bands are tapered.
Does anyone else have experience with lubing lee REALs? I have not gotten to trying out wads yet - would a lubed wad be enough or do I still need to lube the lee REALs?
I also had some homemade patch lube made from 1:1 mix of olive oil and beeswax. I preferred the patch lube more, as it was a more thicker consistency, and seemed like it wanted to fill in the grooves when packed on. After I came home, i figured i try pre lubing the bullets so i dont have to lube them on the field. I whipped up a fresh batch of homemade patch lube, and attempted to lube the lee reals using the dip method. Since it was my first time, I dipped the bullets when they were cold just to see what would it do, and it glazed the bullet with a nice thick layer. I tried pre heating the bullets, before dipping them, but I did not like how inconsistent the grooves were filling. Further, I noticed that the dip method probably is not the best method to lube the lee REALs, since they do not really have a nose to grasp on with pliers.
I resorted to simply dipping a cold bullet in the melted lube as that atleast got the best coverage. The excess lube along the base and the nose can then be wiped off, resulting in thick bands of lube packed along the grooves of the lee REAL bullet. I'm not exactly sure if the pan lube method would work for the lee REAL either, since the driving bands are tapered.
Does anyone else have experience with lubing lee REALs? I have not gotten to trying out wads yet - would a lubed wad be enough or do I still need to lube the lee REALs?